College football star stomped on by Arkansas’ Fernando Carmona breaks his silence amid calls for rival to be banned
Texas Tech player CJ Baskerville has broken his silence after an Arkansas opponent stomped on his ankle, leading to calls for his rival to be banned from football for life.
Fans were left outraged after footage emerged of Arkansas’ Fernando Carmona’s tackle that apparently crushed Baskerville’s ankle on purpose in the Razorbacks’ 39-26 victory over the Red Raiders 39-26 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
Footage of the incident shows the moment players try to get back to their feet after a 6-yard rush by Braylen Russell as Carmona, a team captain, stood above the pile.
Baskerville can be seen lying on the ground, apparently still lying down after a tackle.
At that moment you can see Carmona purposefully stomping on Baskerville’s ankle and putting all his weight on his opponent’s leg.
An irate Baskerville posted two videos of the incident to
Texas Tech player CJ Baskerville has spoken out after an opponent stamped on his ankle
Fans want Fernando Carmona banned from football life after the shocking incident
“But #55 Fernando Carmona shamelessly stepping on my ankle and putting pressure on it on purpose is downright gross.
“Goes on to say, ‘I got your b**** a***.’ Do better @RazorbackFB.”
In the footage, Baskerville can be seen writhing on the ground in pain afterwards, although the referees appeared to miss it.
Angry fans took to social media immediately after the incident to call for a lifetime ban for Carmona Jr.
One wrote: ‘This should be his last game ever. What a loser.’
Another commented: ‘This was definitely on purpose. You can see he held his right leg up until it was on top of the other man’s ankle, and then he pressed down.
‘A normal step would not have had that hesitation. He should be kicked out of the team and the team should be fined.”
A third posted: “I hope every NFL scout and coach sees this. What a terrible thing to do.’
‘He should be banned from football forever!’ another commented.
One comment read: ‘I mean, to even put that in our minds to do it, let alone actually do it… Wow. Cut him off absolutely immediately.”
Offensive lineman Carmona helped quarterback Taylen Green throw for 341 yards and two touchdowns as Arkansas pulled away in the second half to earn a 39-26 victory.
Green completed 11 of 21 passes, two for touchdowns, and added 81 yards and a score on 15 rushes. He led a big offense that saw the Razorbacks pile up 559 total yards.
Will Hammond connected on 20 of 34 passes for 280 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the second half for the Red Raiders, replacing injured starter Behren Morton.
However, Texas Tech’s offense, which cut a 21-3 deficit in the first quarter to 21-19 in the second quarter, was unable to respond in the second half.